Theme: Humans are vulnerable to supernatural power One of the themes in chapter nine to twelve in Dracula by Bram Stoker is vulnerability. In this section, it is very significant to notice how Lucy could not get out of Dracula's attacks, sucking up her blood. Every night, Lucy dreams nightmares about a bat flying around her window. She thinks that “it must be something wrong with my lungs,” (Stoker 104) making herself so pale and weak, but actually it is because Dracula drained most of her blood in the body. Professor Van Helsing recognizes the great loss of blood in Lucy's body and proceeds the blood transfusion. This makes Lucy feel better the next day, however, she is lack of blood again on the day after. Van Helsing, once again, transfers the blood, this time from Dr. Seward to Lucy. Noticing the suspicious marks on Lucy's neck, Van Helsing tries to set up garlic flowers all over her room and especially around her neck purposely. The garlic flowers seemed to work, but Lucy's mom removes the flowers while she is sleeping and Lucy is in trouble again. The transfusion occurs for the third time, Professor Van Helsing transferring his blood in to Lucy's body. Lucy was then okay for few days, restoring her health, but the trouble came again and lastly, Quincey Morris volunteers for the transfusion. However, Lucy is in bad condition that she finally dies. The significance of the dramatic summary above is that despite of four different men's effort to safe Lucy's life, the vulnerability of Lucy to Dracula finally ends her life. Lucy could have been saved if it wasn’t her mom cleaning up the garlic flowers, but the story is telling that science can not overcome the power of supernatural. Lucy's death tells that there are no ways humans can defend against Dracula in any shape or form.
Critical Passage: "Not so! Alas! Not so. It is only the beginning!" pg 147
Van Helsing says "Not so! Alas! Not so. It is only the beginning!" (Stoker 147) in the end of chapter twelve in Dracula by Bram Stoker. The quote is the most interesting and significant quote that I read in the section. The quote explicitly foreshadows how Lucy will metamorphose in to a vampire. The quote is said right after when Dr. Seward said "Ah well, poor girl, there is peace for her at last. It is the end!" (Stoker 147) Interpreting the fact that Van Helsing knows that it was Dracula who bit Lucy, he is telling the readers that, in fact, this will begin Lucy's new life as a vampire because she was bitten by Dracula. There are several examples that support the new life of Lucy as a vampire, such as "Her teeth, in the dim, uncertain light, seemed longer and sharper than they had been in the morning. In particular, by some trick of the light, the canine teeth looked longer and sharper than the rest." She is slowly transforming into the form of a vampire as the infection spreads all over her body. Therefore, I thought that the quote "Not so! Alas! Not so. It is only the beginning!" (Stoker 147) is critical because it foreshadows the future life of Lucy the vampire.
Literary Devices:
"Here, in a case where any shock may prove fatal, matters are so ordered that, from some cause or other, the things not personal-even the terrible change in her daughter to whom she is so attached-do not seem to reach her. It is something like the way Dame Nature gathers round a foreign body an envelope of some insensitive tissue which can protect from evil that which it would other wise harm by contact. If this be an ordered selfishness, then we should pause before we condemn any one for the vice of egoism, for there may be deeper roots for its causes than we have knowledge of." (Stoker 112)
This is a philosophical passage. Bram Stoker used simile in this passage while describing Lucy mom's indifference after seeing the medical machines to use for Lucy. Stoker wrote that she is too ill herself that she can not care for someone else. He compares it to the Dame Nature providing a protection for something fatal. Lucy's mom can die if she gets shocked but the protection is saving her. Bram Stoker also states that we should not condemn people for selfishness because there might be some other more significant reason for it.
"“My friend John, when the corn is grown, even before it has ripened— while the milk of its mother-earth is in him, and the sunshine has not yet begun to paint him with his gold, the husbandman he pull the ear and rub him between his rough hands, and blow away the greenchaff, and say to you: ‘Look! he's good corn; he will make good crop when the time comes.’” I did not see the application, and told him so. For reply he reached over and took my ear in his hand and pulled it playfully, as he used long ago to do at lectures, and said: “The good husbandman tell you so then because he knows, but not till then. But you do not find the good husbandman dig up his planted corn to see if he grow; that is for the children who play athusbandry, and not for those who take it as of the work of their life. See you now, friend John? I have sown my corn, and Nature has her work to do in making it sprout; if he sprout at all, there's some promise; and I wait till the ear begins to swell.” He broke off, for he evidently saw that I understood." (Stoker 111)
In this passage, Professor Van Helsing is using metaphor. Dr Seward asks Van Helsing about Lucy's illness but Van Helsing replies that "Nature has her work to do in making it sprout; if he sprout at all, there's some promise; and I wait till the ear begins to swell." (Stoker 112) Van Helsing tells Dr. Seward himself as a good husbandman metaphorically who knows whether the corn will be healthy or not before it ripens. However, refers Dr. Seward as a child who is not expert in growing corns. Dr Seward will know if the corn is healthy or not after it grows fully. This metaphor is inferring that Van Helsing is the expert who knows that the Dracula has sucked up Lucy's blood but Dr. Seward should wait till the plausible evidence of Dracula is shown. This metaphor is very important because it indirectly tells the reader that Van Helsing now knows the truth of Lucy's illness.
Reflection
Basically, I learned that I should be more responsible for the understanding of the students in what I am planning to do. Even though the first class went very well, when both sides had concrete evidences and clear evidence to accuse of defend oneself, the second class was chaotic. People forgot what they have said before and they started saying new things that were not the main purpose of the trial. For example, in the opening statement, the lawyers of Dracula argued that the opposition could have saved Lucy if they cared more about her; stay up all night despite weary condition. However, in the next class, Dracula side brought up a whole new different argument of how it is not directly stated in the text that it was Dracula who drained Lucy. Our group or I should have made it clear and organized the ideas that were presented in the first day and post it up on the wiki, so that everyone can remember what they were doing in the previous class. Nonetheless, we heard many good points from both sides using textual evidences. I heard many thoughts that I could not think of while I read the book and that was the good part of having a discussion and a trial. Nonetheless, I can do it better in the future by responding quickly to schedule changes or act more like a judge and manage the trial. Overall, the trial was pretty interesting in many ways.
One of the themes in chapter nine to twelve in Dracula by Bram Stoker is vulnerability. In this section, it is very significant to notice how Lucy could not get out of Dracula's attacks, sucking up her blood. Every night, Lucy dreams nightmares about a bat flying around her window. She thinks that “it must be something wrong with my lungs,” (Stoker 104) making herself so pale and weak, but actually it is because Dracula drained most of her blood in the body. Professor Van Helsing recognizes the great loss of blood in Lucy's body and proceeds the blood transfusion. This makes Lucy feel better the next day, however, she is lack of blood again on the day after. Van Helsing, once again, transfers the blood, this time from Dr. Seward to Lucy. Noticing the suspicious marks on Lucy's neck, Van Helsing tries to set up garlic flowers all over her room and especially around her neck purposely. The garlic flowers seemed to work, but Lucy's mom removes the flowers while she is sleeping and Lucy is in trouble again. The transfusion occurs for the third time, Professor Van Helsing transferring his blood in to Lucy's body. Lucy was then okay for few days, restoring her health, but the trouble came again and lastly, Quincey Morris volunteers for the transfusion. However, Lucy is in bad condition that she finally dies. The significance of the dramatic summary above is that despite of four different men's effort to safe Lucy's life, the vulnerability of Lucy to Dracula finally ends her life. Lucy could have been saved if it wasn’t her mom cleaning up the garlic flowers, but the story is telling that science can not overcome the power of supernatural. Lucy's death tells that there are no ways humans can defend against Dracula in any shape or form.
Critical Passage: "Not so! Alas! Not so. It is only the beginning!" pg 147
Van Helsing says "Not so! Alas! Not so. It is only the beginning!" (Stoker 147) in the end of chapter twelve in Dracula by Bram Stoker. The quote is the most interesting and significant quote that I read in the section. The quote explicitly foreshadows how Lucy will metamorphose in to a vampire. The quote is said right after when Dr. Seward said "Ah well, poor girl, there is peace for her at last. It is the end!" (Stoker 147) Interpreting the fact that Van Helsing knows that it was Dracula who bit Lucy, he is telling the readers that, in fact, this will begin Lucy's new life as a vampire because she was bitten by Dracula. There are several examples that support the new life of Lucy as a vampire, such as "Her teeth, in the dim, uncertain light, seemed longer and sharper than they had been in the morning. In particular, by some trick of the light, the canine teeth looked longer and sharper than the rest." She is slowly transforming into the form of a vampire as the infection spreads all over her body. Therefore, I thought that the quote "Not so! Alas! Not so. It is only the beginning!" (Stoker 147) is critical because it foreshadows the future life of Lucy the vampire.
Literary Devices:
"Here, in a case where any shock may prove fatal, matters are so ordered that, from some cause or other, the things not personal-even the terrible change in her daughter to whom she is so attached-do not seem to reach her. It is something like the way Dame Nature gathers round a foreign body an envelope of some insensitive tissue which can protect from evil that which it would other wise harm by contact. If this be an ordered selfishness, then we should pause before we condemn any one for the vice of egoism, for there may be deeper roots for its causes than we have knowledge of." (Stoker 112)
This is a philosophical passage. Bram Stoker used simile in this passage while describing Lucy mom's indifference after seeing the medical machines to use for Lucy. Stoker wrote that she is too ill herself that she can not care for someone else. He compares it to the Dame Nature providing a protection for something fatal. Lucy's mom can die if she gets shocked but the protection is saving her. Bram Stoker also states that we should not condemn people for selfishness because there might be some other more significant reason for it.
"“My friend John, when the corn is grown, even before it has ripened— while the milk of its mother-earth is in him, and the sunshine has not yet begun to paint him with his gold, the husbandman he pull the ear and rub him between his rough hands, and blow away the greenchaff, and say to you: ‘Look! he's good corn; he will make good crop when the time comes.’” I did not see the application, and told him so. For reply he reached over and took my ear in his hand and pulled it playfully, as he used long ago to do at lectures, and said: “The good husbandman tell you so then because he knows, but not till then. But you do not find the good husbandman dig up his planted corn to see if he grow; that is for the children who play athusbandry, and not for those who take it as of the work of their life. See you now, friend John? I have sown my corn, and Nature has her work to do in making it sprout; if he sprout at all, there's some promise; and I wait till the ear begins to swell.” He broke off, for he evidently saw that I understood." (Stoker 111)
In this passage, Professor Van Helsing is using metaphor. Dr Seward asks Van Helsing about Lucy's illness but Van Helsing replies that "Nature has her work to do in making it sprout; if he sprout at all, there's some promise; and I wait till the ear begins to swell." (Stoker 112) Van Helsing tells Dr. Seward himself as a good husbandman metaphorically who knows whether the corn will be healthy or not before it ripens. However, refers Dr. Seward as a child who is not expert in growing corns. Dr Seward will know if the corn is healthy or not after it grows fully. This metaphor is inferring that Van Helsing is the expert who knows that the Dracula has sucked up Lucy's blood but Dr. Seward should wait till the plausible evidence of Dracula is shown. This metaphor is very important because it indirectly tells the reader that Van Helsing now knows the truth of Lucy's illness.
Reflection
Basically, I learned that I should be more responsible for the understanding of the students in what I am planning to do. Even though the first class went very well, when both sides had concrete evidences and clear evidence to accuse of defend oneself, the second class was chaotic. People forgot what they have said before and they started saying new things that were not the main purpose of the trial. For example, in the opening statement, the lawyers of Dracula argued that the opposition could have saved Lucy if they cared more about her; stay up all night despite weary condition. However, in the next class, Dracula side brought up a whole new different argument of how it is not directly stated in the text that it was Dracula who drained Lucy. Our group or I should have made it clear and organized the ideas that were presented in the first day and post it up on the wiki, so that everyone can remember what they were doing in the previous class. Nonetheless, we heard many good points from both sides using textual evidences. I heard many thoughts that I could not think of while I read the book and that was the good part of having a discussion and a trial. Nonetheless, I can do it better in the future by responding quickly to schedule changes or act more like a judge and manage the trial. Overall, the trial was pretty interesting in many ways.